Jamie Freveletti● Has a black belt in Aikido and is a recovering lawyer. Her novel, Running from the Devil, won the Barry Award for Best Thriller.

Lynne Constantine● Has explored coral reefs all over the world, sunken wrecks in the South Pacific, and fallen in love with angelfish in the Caribbean. She is two people: Liv Constantine writing with her sister, and L.C. Shaw writing solo.

Valerie Constantine● Has worked with advance teams at the White House, planning presidential trips and travel and has visited over forty foreign countries.

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Sunday, October 2, 2016

10 BOOKS TO MAKE YOU A BETTER WRITER TODAY

WRITING TIPS FROM THE EXPERTS (Not Me)

A few of my favorites

I feel horribly unqualified to offer writing advice. Not because I’m a bad writer; I don’t think that’s the case. But because A) I’m a terrible teacher, and B) I have no idea how people write books whilst maintaining any semblance of life balance.

THOSE WHO CAN’T TEACH… JUST SHOULDN’T

A) Fact: I am a terrible teacher.

I know, I know. This is the point in the conversation when you say, “Oh, I'm sure that's not true.”

Rest assured, it’s true.

HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF HOW I TEACH:

Me: One-fourth is equivalent to 25%.

Unfortunate Victim (aka ‘student’): I don’t understand.

Me:*shouts* ONE-FOURTH is EQUIVALENT or EQUAL TO TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT.

Victim: Yes, I heard you the first time. But I don’t understand how you came up with that number.

Me:*throws hands up* I can’t talk to you when you’re like this.

This is not a joke. I’m a published author and to this day my children will not ask me to proofread their papers. From the tender age of eight or nine, the scene followed a predictable pattern: violent slashes of red ink; harsh words exchanged; tear-stained faces as mother and child stormed from the room.

MAINTAINING BALANCE

B) Fact: I work obsessively. Or not at all.

For the second time, my editor has offered a deadline extension. Here’s what my day looks like: Wake at 4:30, start the coffee, sit at my desk. Open my manuscript. Work on the draft for ten solid hours (with occasional snack breaks). Stumble away from my office bleary eyed and frustrated, nuke dinner, go to bed by 9:00.

Wake, repeat.

As my deadline draws ever nearer, the chatter in my head roars to a deafening volume. My inner critics drown out my characters and clamor for attention.

The voice of the responsible employee says, “For the love of God, just get it done.”

The perfectionist answers, “Tsk, tsk. Embracing mediocrity, are we?”

The impatient child screams, “This isn’t fun anymore!”

The impulsive teenager adds, “Let’s go catch a movie…”

PLOTTING VS. PANTSING

Friday’s post, I’M A PLOTTER, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, by Francine Matthews, raised a question writers are often asked: do you outline your story before you begin, or make it up as you go along? (For those of you unfamiliar with the term, ‘pantsing’ refers to writing without an outline, aka, flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants.)

My first novel, Desert Dark, took about eight years from start to finish. I had no plan; each day I’d sit at my computer and type whatever came to mind. If you’ve read any of my blog posts you’ve probably noticed that my thoughts are often scattered, disjointed, and seemingly irrelevant to whatever came before. The same is true with novel writing; thus, the eight years.

I’m currently working on the sequel. As I’m under contract, my publishing house (reasonably) asked for an outline of book two. I found the process both helpful and excruciating. The spontaneous joy of an unfolding story is missing; however, I do anticipate that I will need substantially less time to finish. But it’s still taking longer than I think it should.

So is the problem lack of planning? Too much planning? Maybe the wrong kind of planning.

I solve problems one of two ways:

1) Immediately jump in, having very little information and no understanding of the magnitude of the issue, get three-quarters of the way through, realize I'm in over my head (or bored), and haul ass out; OR

ADVICE TO SELF: SEEK HELP

Now that I’ve convinced you of my lack of credentials, perhaps you’re wondering what I could possibly add to the plethora of helpful writing tips offered by my blog sisters in the last few weeks. Fear not: I won’t be teaching you anything at all. Instead, I’ve compiled a short list of my favorite writing books. This list is by no means all-inclusive, but the pages of the books listed here are highlighted, underlined, and lovingly dog-eared.

This list reflects a fraction of my collection, but I’m always looking to add to my toolbox. If you have a favorite to recommend, please leave the title in the comment section!

11 comments:

OMG, Sonja, you so captured the frustration and angst of the writer. In many ways it gets easier, and in other ways it remains the hardest work ever -- at least for me. A friend once called it ditch-digging of the mind. But the joy of it can be so effervescent and lasting that it keeps us glued to the desk. And the fact that all of us keep wandering until we make our own paths. What a fantastic list of books!

Oh Sonja, what a great, "honest" article you wrote about the frustrations of writing -- however, once the project is finished, you know the elation of seeing your work published and distributed....and then glean the great reviews. While you talk about a plan vs. no plan...I say, "Whatever works" -- and while you say it takes a long time, I say that you create wonderful stories In fact, after all those years, DESERT DARK was the result. I'm currently reading it and it's terrific. Now, I can't wait for the sequel!

OMG, Sonja, you are just like me. I've had deadline extensions. I've screamed at my kids when they didn't "get something" I thought they should, and red lined their papers. I've gone to the movies when I should have been working. And I've used research as an alternative to writing. You will get this! Your first book was fabulous and I can't wait for your second. And I'm thrilled to get your list of How-to books. I've read three of them, but that leaves me seven new titles to check out! Thanks.